Fernando Mendoza Set for First NFL Start as Raiders Host Seahawks

Fernando Mendoza will make his first NFL start on Sunday when the Las Vegas Raiders host the Seattle Seahawks at 4:05 p.m. ET as part of the Week 10 schedule. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft takes over the offense after Las Vegas traded Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings.

Mendoza will not be eased into the league. His debut comes against the defending Super Bowl champions, though he will have the home crowd in Las Vegas behind him. The matchup figures to draw heavy interest from bettors, and SportsLine expert Eric Cohen has released his best bets for the rookie's first start.

Cohen's top play is Mendoza topping 180.5 passing yards at -113 odds. He acknowledged the difficulty of the matchup, noting that Seattle owns the best pass defense in the NFL and that only one quarterback, Caleb Williams, has thrown for more than 200 yards against the Seahawks in 2026. Still, Cohen believes in the rookie's track record of delivering in big moments, pointing to everything Mendoza accomplished at Indiana last season.

"I'm not saying the Raiders will win, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't a semi-close game," Cohen said. "The key for this prop is one big play of 40+ yards by Brock Bowers or a Vegas wide receiver."

At the same time, Cohen likes the Under on 30.5 passing attempts for Mendoza at -106. "Against this tough Seattle defense, I'm not sure that Las Vegas will gameplan for the No. 1 overall pick to throw it 35 times," Cohen said. "I could see a stat line like 18 for 28, 190 yards, and one touchdown pass."

Cohen is also backing the Over on 40.5 total points in the game, even with Mendoza making his first start and Drew Lock starting at quarterback for Seattle. "This total is far too low," he said. "Each of the last seven Raiders games has hit the Over, and no less than 55 points has been scored in each. Let's ride the trend until it fails us."

His final pick is Raiders tight end Brock Bowers clearing 59.5 receiving yards at -111. Cohen called Bowers the best tight end in the NFL and expects Klint Kubiak to keep building the offense around getting him the ball. He noted that Seattle has allowed 65 yards to Colston Loveland and 54 yards to Trey McBride in consecutive weeks, adding that Bowers is better than both and "should end up closer to 70 yards at the least."

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